The Longhorn Mafia

The official Blog of the LM.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Sports: My All-Time Top Ten 'Stomach-Punch' Losses

Bear with me folks, this is cathartic.

10. Lewisville 40, Temple 16 (1993): We were on the verge of a second consecutive state championship appearance, hoping to repeat as 5A champs. Lewisville ended that dream in the state semi-final at Texas Stadium, turning a 10-7 halftime lead into a second half blowout.

9. Buffalo 41, Houston 38 (1993): I just knew we'd see an all-Texas Super Bowl. It looked that way when the Oilers led 38-3. The Frank Reich did the impossible. Houston's run-and-shoot woes allowed Buffalo to storm back and win in OT.

8. Arkansas 88, Texas 85 (1990): BMW -- the Ultimate Scoring Machine, fell just short of driving Texas to the Final Four. Tom Penders' greatest team experienced their most heartbreaking loss to their biggest rival. If only that last second three-pointer had gone in...

7. Waco 14, Temple 7 (1994): After making the playoffs my first three years in school (worst season was a third-round exit to Dallas Carter in 1991), the Wildcats missed the playoffs altogether my senior year. Rival Waco beat us in Wildcat Stadium to claim the district title and keep us at home.

6. Oklahoma 14, Texas 3 (2001): Everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong. Still, with a few minutes to play we had the ball and a chance to drive for a go-ahead TD. Then Roy Williams did his "Superman" leap and next thing you know, it's 14-3 and the game is all but over.

5. Miami 46, Texas 3 (1991): The most deflating Texas game of all time. The "Shock the Nation" tour ended in shock and awe -- all from the Hurricanes. Miami racked up more penalty yardage than Texas had total offense. You knew it was over when the Canes (a) knocked out our return man on the opening kickoff and (b) converted a 1st and 40 on their opening possession. Ugly.

4. San Diego 2, Houston 1 (1998): Jim Leyritz was the Astros' kryptonite in the NLDS, and his HR in Game Three didn't necessarily win the game, but it certainly contributed to it.

3. Atlanta 5, Houston 3 (1999): I've written about Game Three of the NLDS plenty of times before. I just can't do it again.

2. Colorado 39, Texas 37 (2001): Even with the loss to OU, the planets aligned and every team that had to lose, in order for Texas to earn a spot in the BCS title game, actually did lose. All they had to do was beat a team that they had already beaten, 41-7, just two months earlier. Then Chris Simms played the worst game of his life. A late comeback failed and Texas snatched defeat from the jaws of victory... again.